Maltese Gambit
by Nekobaghira
Summary: The Xmen in the 1930's with powers. Gambit centric.


I don't own the characters. Marvel does. This was part of a challenge  
must contain:

- a broom  
- a bo staff  
- penny loafers  
a quote: "Don't put that there!"

Story set in the mid 1930's after prohibition. Characters have powers but don't openly use them, they ignore their gifts but occasionally may use their power.

I kept the accent light. Not a fan of heavy accents.

While trying to keep true to the characters or as Marvel may have described them, I altered a few things for this story. Cerise is not an alien. Just exotic looking and has a shop. Mystique may seem out of character but .. I'm going for a more human approach. I'm ignoring her Brotherhood and other things she may have done. I want her to be a Mom who has not had it easy.

Kurt Wagner is not blue nor is he elf looking in this story. He has yellow eyes and can teleport. He's caucasian with jet black hair, has agility and has a European look to him. This change was made because I didn't want to address his looks or have to use a circus type setting to make his appearance belong in the story for this time period. So, no bamfing or brimstone aroma.

I've avoided codenames with the exception of Rogue.

Chapter 1

She sauntered in through the office door and stood in front of the receptionist desk.  
"Is he in?"  
The receptionist eyed her coolly and picked up the phone.  
"She's here," the receptionist stated, while glaring at Rogue. "He'll see you now."  
With a wry smile she walked into Mr. LeBeau's office.

Rogue strolled into the office wearing a tight fitting dress with a jacket type top and long gloves. The jacket framed her hips elegantly, and the diamond brooch on the left lapel sparkled brightly. Her hair was up swept and tied together with a butterfly clip, her hair hung down her back in soft curly rolls. She had green eyes and lips that looked sensuous. She was carrying a long envelope in her hands. She stopped in front of Mr. LeBeau's desk. "Mr. LeBeau?"

Remy LeBeau was wearing a dark suit with a paisley tie, his black penny loafers were shiny but matched the suit perfectly. His hat hung on the hat rack. His desk had a calendar, a phone, typewriter and a few knick knacks. He leaned back in his chair to get a better view of the woman standing in front of his desk. He smiled at her. He enjoyed looking at the beauty of women, the curves, clothes, and smells of women always made him feel warm. "I'm LeBeau", is all he said and he watched her for a few seconds longer waiting for her reaction.

Rogue studied Remy LeBeau, his hypnotic eyes intrigued her. The distinctive red on black eyes looked eerie to her yet beautiful. However, she couldn't let herself get distracted. She needed to find her brother discreetly and did not want to give more information than necessary. She was upset that her foster mother neglected to tell her she had a brother all these years. Now with Irene's passing, it was important to find him. He was an heir and the estate could not be wrapped up without all of the heirs present. All she could find in Irene's lock box were pictures and a few receipts. She thought about how crafty Irene was to have pictures of this man. She must have had a private detective keeping tabs on him for her, but she found no card or name anywhere in her belongings.

A few moments passed and she finally resigned herself to continue on with what she needed. "Mr. LeBeau, I'm Anna Darkholme and I need you find someone for me." She went to drop the envelope on his desk and suddenly Remy shouted: "Don't put that there!"

Startled, Rogue jumped back while clutching the envelope. Remy then just smiled. He wanted to rattle her, catch her off guard so that he could better size her up. And for only a moment he saw a woman that was warm and vulnerable; not hard and cold as she was when she first walked in. He stood up and took the envelope from her hands. She was shaking still, but was calming down and quickly her demeanor was the same as before. Cold. "You're a jerk," was her reply as she waited to see if he would help her or not.

The contents were mostly pictures and few receipts for hotels and restaurants. After carefully looking the items over, he looked at her. "This will be expensive, I don't do charity work".

She smiled knowing there would be a price. She removed the brooch and placed it on the desk. "Here's a down payment for your services." He looked over the diamond brooch and placed it back on his desk. He walked around the desk to where Rogue was standing, placed his arm around her back and guided her to the door. He then grabbed her gloved hand and kissed it. "I'll see what I can find". She yanked her hand away and gave him a sly smile that dripped of sarcasm and then sauntered out of the office. Remy LeBeau smiled to himself as he watched her hips sway. After she had left, he looked at his receptionist and said, "We've got work to do."

Chapter 2

Jean Grey dressed conservatively in a plain black dress that hugged her slim figure. Her fiery red hair accented her blue eyes. Being a receptionist wasn't too bad of a job. It gave her an opportunity to be out of the house and away from her family who were constantly nagging her to get married and have children. The job was more than just typing and dictation. She was always vital in helping Remy LeBeau with his investigations. She enjoyed going places, learning about people and seeing the world. Plus she loved flirting with Remy. It always felt dangerous and fun. She felt like a woman around him, and made her forget that she was intended to marry Scott Summers sometime later in the year. She loved Scott but to marry so early and settle down wasn't as appealing to her as seeing the world.

Remy handed one picture plus the receipts for the hotels and restaurants to Jean. "I want you to find out as much information as you can, see if they can describe the people with this person or if he was alone."

Jean smiled and said, "sure thing boss." With a wink of her eye she put the items in her purse, got up from her desk pushed the chair in and walked out.

Remy walked into his office, grabbed his hat and pocketed the brooch. He decided to use a more shady approach to finding the mysterious man in the pictures Anna Darkholme had given him. He knew a guy who worked on the docks near the river. He had an uncanny sense of smell and could find anyone with barely a thing to go on. Remy LeBeau had helped James Logan out a few times and didn't accept any payment. Their arrangement was if he needed Logan, he would just ask for his help. Now, it was time to call in a marker.

Remy met up with Logan at the dock. Logan enjoyed physical work, it kept his mind off his anger management issues. Logan was loading boxes into a warehouse when he noticed a spicy scent that he recognized. He knew LeBeau was nearby. He shook his head and laughed. "Okay LeBeau, I know you're here, what do you want?"

"I need a favor," Remy winked.

"Don't you always?" Logan continued working while waiting to find out what Remy wanted.

"I need you to look at what I have Logan." Logan stopped working and stared at Remy LeBeau. Remy handed a picture to Logan. "I need you look for this guy, and give me call when you've located him."

"That it?"

"Yeah, dat's all I need." He went to hand Logan a card, and was waved off.

"Not much to go on, don't you have anything else, something other than a picture?"

"'Fraid not, thanks Logan."

"Yeah right, don't mention it kid." Logan picked up where he left off with the boxes. Remy walked away and whistled for a cab.

Remy and Jean had caught up with each other on the street leading up to the office. They were talking about little things, they seldom talked about a case on the street. It was Remy's rule, he never wanted anyone to overhear what they were discussing. They entered the building and walked down the hall to the office to discover the door was open and the glass was broken. They entered the office to see all the furniture knocked over and the file cabinets were open. Files were strewn all over the place. Remy muttered to himself about the cost of getting a new door. Jean walked to the closet, took out the broom and began sweeping up the broken glass. An hour later, the office was looking better. Remy called a contractor to fix the door, then he sent Jean home for the night. He wanted to take another look around the office to see what the intruder may have been looking for and he didn't want Jean to get hurt. He enjoyed flirting with her, she was a great help to his business, but he also did not want anything to happen to her.

Remy spent an hour going through all of the files. It didn't appear that anything was taken with the exception of the envelope that Anna Darkholme had given him. He thought it odd because all that had been left in the file were pictures. It made him glad that Jean had the other pieces of information that were linked to the missing person in the photos. He wondered why someone would want pictures of the mysterious man. It made him wonder what the connection was between Anna Darkholme and this man. He decided that he would take a closer look at Ms. Darkholme. The thought brought a smile to his face, seeing her again would be fun.

The next day it was business as usual at the office. The contractor was already working on the door and the lettering would be finished up in the afternoon. Jean was giddy, she knew Remy would love the information she found for him. They conducted business as usual, Jean taking care of paper work and Remy sitting in his office making a few notes. Once the contractor was finished and the lettering done, Jean locked the door so that she could give her report to Remy.

After visiting the hotels and restaurants that the receipts were from, Jean discovered that their mystery man was always with a woman. The same one at each establishment. Cerise was the only name Jean could find, but she had a business in the middle part of town. Cerise traveled a great deal and sold antiques specializing in lamps. The lamps were made of all sorts of material and were very ornate. She was exotic looking, high cheek bones, thin eyebrows and dark hair. As far as the man went, most of the people did not remember him well. Cerise was quite the beauty and all attention was focused on her whenever the couple entered a room. She did manage to get a name: Wagner. Wagner also traveled a lot but always came back to the city to visit Cerise. They appeared to be a couple. Wagner brought gifts and Cerise was always glowing and smiling in Wagner's direction.

This piqued Remy's interest; if Wagner and Cerise were an item why would Anna Darkholme care? Is she a jilted lover? She didn't appear to be a woman scorned. What's the connection. Is there something they're missing? Anna left something out, he concluded. To find the missing piece he would have to take a closer look at Anna Darkholme.

Jean cleared her throat and broke Remy from his thoughts. He smiled at her and said, "Job well done, how about I take you out for a drink?"

Jean smiled and declined "I've got to meet Scott and his family for dinner."

Remy kissed her hand and said, "Another time den?" and gave her his most devilish grin. Jean blushed and smiled broadly. Jean went home for the night. She had a lift in her walk she felt good about her work.

Chapter 3

The next morning Remy headed for the middle part of town. It was quaint with various little shops selling everything from cigarettes and liquor to small coffee shops. The antique shop was loaded with all sorts of curios, but mostly lamps and few odd items. On the wall in the back of the shop were some antique weapons, an 1812 Nathan Starr Cavalry Saber, a 1900 African Congolese Spear, a Shinto Katana, and a bo staff with burned markings on both ends of the staff. Remy walked through the store which appeared empty even though the sign said open. Remy heard a door open and in walked the owner of the shop, Cerise. She smiled at Remy and he gave her his most charming grin.

"Can I help you find something?"

"I'm just looking." He never took his eyes off her.

Cerise blushed a little then turned away and began to re-arrange some of the lamps on the shelf. Remy walked up to Cerise and they made small talk about lamps. He wanted to win her over, get her to open up to him. After ten minutes, Remy convinced Cerise to join him for coffee. She closed the shop and walked with him to the coffee shop on the corner.

The waitress brought two cups of coffee and departed back to the counter. Remy and Cerise continued small talk for a few minutes and when he recognized her ease at his presence, he then took the moment to get the information he needed from her. Remy smiled at Cerise, "A beautiful woman and no ring?"

She smiled brightly "I have a boyfriend."

Remy raised a brow. "Oh, a boyfriend? Do I get a name of my competition?"

Cerise blushed again "Kurt Wagner."

"He's one lucky man, chere." He winked at Cerise. She smiled brightly again. They finished their coffee and he walked her back to her shop. He brought her hand to his lips and gave her a kiss. "Bye chere." She simply smiled and watched him walk away.

Remy LeBeau went to his office. Jean was typing up a report for another client and as Remy walked by, she handed him a note. It was from Ms. Darkholme, she wanted a progress report. She left a phone number. Remy smiled to himself, he was sure it was a pay phone but that didn't matter. It meant she lived near that phone booth and that was good enough for him. Remy called his friend at the telephone service, he needed a street location for the phone booth. Once he got the street address, he made plans to find Anna Darkholme.

Chapter 4

Remy LeBeau woke up early. He showered and shaved. Today was not a suit day, today was jeans and a tee shirt day. He also wore sunglasses. He picked out one of his more worn hats with a long brim. He wanted to blend in with the crowd and not be seen. He made his way to the phone booth that Anna used yesterday. It was across from a park. There were plenty of brownstones on the same side of the street as the phonebooth. He sat in the park and waited. He was rewarded around noon, when he saw a woman dressed in a black and white skirt and top exit one of the brownstones. The long top overlay the skirt and was belted at the waist. The hat had a short brim and matched the outfit. She had her hair in a ponytail. She wore matching gloves, a little shorter than the pair she wore in his office. She was beautiful and Remy wanted to whistle, but decided against it and admired the view. She descended the steps and made her way down the street. Remy smiled to himself and followed her keeping a safe distance behind so that she would not notice him. She window shopped most of the day, and she stopped for a vanilla malt soda. She returned to the brownstone around four pm. She liked to shop, but other than that, Remy had nothing but an address. He went to the police station.

"Oh great, look who's here," Bobby Drake rolled his eyes and Remy LeBeau entered the squad room. Remy just smiled at Bobby.

Bobby and Remy would go out on the town together, usually playing pool and looking for ladies. In general it was always a night that gave Bobby a hangover the next day.

"Drake, find Lucas for me."

"No, he's busy, he doesn't have time for your foolishness. You're an investigator, do it yourself."

"C'mon Bobby its important."

"Yeah, right, is there a woman involved?"

"Maybe."

Bobby started to laugh. "Okay lover boy, I can't wait to hear about this one." Bobby left the squad room and found Lucas Bishop in his office going through some papers. He glanced up at Bobby. "I'm busy,Drake."

"LeBeau is here to see you."

Bishop sighed. He shook his head but got up anyway and followed Bobby to the squad room.

Lucas Bishop and Remy LeBeau had a unspoken business relationship. When Lucas couldn't get past the bureaucracy of the department, he could call Remy to look into a few things. Remy's work was impeccable and in return if Remy needed a favor, Bishop found the time to help Remy out.

Remy and Lucas shook hands. "Hi Remy, what brings you here?"

"I need a background check."

"Business or pleasure?"

"Both."

Lucas laughed. "Okay, whats the name?"

"Anna Darkholme." Remy gave Lucas Anna's address. When can I drop by for the info?"

"Late tomorrow." Lucas took the paper and went back to his office and then shouted "It's gonna cost you!"

"I'll bring a nice bottle of Scotch and flowers for Ro!" Remy shouted back.

"See ya Drake," Remy walked out of the squad room and headed for the street.

Bobby chuckled and went back to his desk.

Chapter 5

It was getting late and Remy needed to stop by the office before heading home. When he arrived at the office Jean was on the phone and as soon as she saw him she starting waving at him frantically. She mouthed to him, "It's James, he's been calling all day."

"Alright, right, hold on James." Jean then handed the phone to Remy.

"Ello?"

"What time?"

"Fine." Remy hung up the phone.

Jean gave Remy a report of activity. Since the Darkholme case, Jean had been taking care of other clients while Remy worked the case. Once she was finished she pointed to the memo pad. Anna had called again.

"If she calls again, tell her I'll have something for her in a couple of days." Jean nodded her head.

Remy checked the messages, made a few notes in his book then went back out the door. He needed to meet Logan at Mickey's Tavern. It was one of Logan's favorite hang outs.

Mickey's Tavern was sparsely lit and was small for a bar. The bar itself was made of dark wood and was U shaped. The stools were also wooden and surrounded the bar. A few feet away were several tables away from the bar and near the back of the room was a pool table. Behind the bar was a large mirror and flanking both sides of the mirror were shelves filled with bottles of liquor. By the time Remy arrived at Mickey's, Logan was already on his second drink. Remy sauntered up to Logan and sat down on a barstool next to him. The bartender walked by and put a shot of Scotch in front of Remy. "Merci."

"You know LeBeau, you're a real pain in the ass to get a hold of." Logan took a drag off his cigar.

"I know." Remy took a sip of his Scotch.

"I think I liked this place better when it was a speak easy. It certainly had more action then, the place is too quiet now."

Remy shrugged and waited for James to talk.

"Your boy lives just outside of town on the other side of the tracks, I can give you directions."

"Good, anything else?"

"His family is a group of Gypsies, and they have a small shop where they operate a business. Tarot reading and the like." Logan paused, took a drink and puffed on his cigar before continuing. "They also perform in theaters, they have a stage show and Wagner usually performs with them. I got some pictures for you."

"Thanks." Remy took the address with directions and the pictures. He bought Logan another drink threw some money down on the bar and went home.

Chapter 6

Late in the afternoon Remy dropped by the police station to get the background check on Anna. He strolled into the police station and saw Drake sitting at his desk typing away on his typewriter. Drake waved quickly, picked up the phone briefly spoke into it. He dropped the phone back into its cradle, then continued typing. Remy walked to Lucas Bishop's office. He brought a bottle of Chivas Regal with him. He entered Bishop's office and plunked the bottle of Scotch on the desk.

Lucas looked up, and smiled. "Twelve year old Scotch? Nice."

"What did you find?" Remy flashed a grin.

"Nothing really exciting about Anna. She was born in Caldecott County Mississippi, and ran away from home. She was adopted by Irene Adler and Raven Darkholme." Lucas paused for a second, then continued. "But the interesting part is we got a hit on Raven. She has a couple of priors, nothing big. I thought I'd look a little deeper. Turns out Raven had a son out of wedlock. She was living in Germany at the time and was forced to give the child up. After she did that, she fled the country. Upon arriving in the United States she met Irene. They've been living together ever since." He looked up at Remy, then handed him the file. "Oh, one more thing. Irene passed away a couple weeks ago. The newspaper clipping is included."

"Enjoy the Scotch," Remy took the file and strolled out of the police department. The mystery man is a brother. The thought made Remy smile.

Anna Darkholme was annoyed to say the least. It had been days since she hired Remy LeBeau, she expected answers by now. She was tired of talking to that irritating receptionist. She was going to pay Mr. LeBeau another visit and if he didn't have what she was looking for she was going to fire him. She also needed to settle up the mess Raven created, she couldn't believe her foster mother tried to stop her from finding her brother. Breaking into LeBeau's office was inexcusable. She and Raven argued for days about the will and about Kurt. Raven finally gave in. She was upset about giving up Kurt and found the situation just too painful. Especially after losing Irene. Eventually, she gave in to Anna.

Anna took a cab to office building where LeBeau's office was located.

Remy gave Jean the file and had her type up the report and then give it to him when they were done. His plan was catch up with Anna Darkholme and give her the information personally. He smiled to himself, he couldn't wait to see her again.

"You're smitten!"

"What?"

"You are completely taken by her." Remy just flashed a wide grin and walked into his office.

Anna Darkholme walked into the office like she owned the place. Her tone was sharp. "Is he in?"  
Jean called Remy on the phone and informed him Anna was here. He walked out of his office and motioned Anna to join him. She sauntered in, he motioned her to a chair. She sat down.  
"Well?"

Remy smiled, he enjoyed looking at her and just wanted to tease her just a little.

Anna started tapping her foot in annoyance.

"Aw chere, no smile, nothing. Are you always so cold?" Remy gave her his most charming grin.

"Mr. LeBeau, do you have information for me or not?"

"Yes,I do." He kept smiling, and handed her the folder with the report about Kurt Wagner and where he could be found. Anna blinked hard twice. She couldn't believe it. He actually found him. Her cold veneer disappeared. She looked up from the file and was overwhelmed. She needed to leave, she quickly stood up. "Thank you."

"Wait a minute chere, there is still the matter of my payment."

Anna just stared at him. "Of course." She started to fumble through her purse.

"Nah, nah, how about dinner...Tonight?"

She blinked at him, "I thought you don't do charity work?" She was giving her best sarcasm she could muster.

"I'm not...Dinner?"

"I'll think about it" She winked and gave him a wicked smile. She then walked out of the office with a sway that made Remy feel warm all over.

Fini


End file.
